Plea expected for man charged in sexual assault of Marklund resident

The man accused of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled woman who later gave birth is expected to accept a plea agreement next week– which would have happened Wednesday if elevators at the Kane County Judicial Center were working.

Isaiah S. Fields, 23, of Chicago, is being held without bond in the Kane County Jail. Fields was indicted on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent; one count of criminal sexual assault of a person unable to understand or give consent; and two counts of aggravated battery of a person with a physical disability, all felonies.

Fields' attorney, Justin Sather, told Circuit Judge John Barsanti that they had anticipated a plea agreement today.

“But it’s my understanding the elevators are not working,” Sather said. “I can’t get Mr. Fields here in person to sign the paperwork to put the plea in.”

Barsanti and Sather agreed to set Jan. 14 for the next court date, anticipating that the building’s elevators will be working by then.

“I guess they are going to put in a plea on this Mr. Fields, next Tuesday morning at 9,” Barsanti said. “We’ll have you brought over here at that time.”

Appearing via Zoom from the jail, Fields said he understood.

The victim is a resident of the Marklund Hyde Center Campus near Geneva, a nonprofit that provides residential and other services to 96 adults with profound development disabilities. The resident gave birth to a son April 10 at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, officials said.

DNA testing resulted in Fields' arrest, officials said.

The assault took place sometime between Aug. 1 and Sept. 5, 2023, according to the charging documents.

Marklund employees were unaware of her condition because part of her disability was a distended abdomen. When her labs were reviewed, she was taken to Delnor April 9. Then the hospital notified Marklund officials that she was pregnant – and that this was a case of sexual abuse, Marklund President and CEO Gil Fonger said.

The most serious charges Fields faces are the three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, Class X felonies, punishable by six to 30 years in prison if convicted.